Wheel retainer with screw actuated clamps



May 20, 1958 s. w. HAYES 2,835,207

' WHEEL RETAINER WITH scmzw ACTUATED- CLAMPS Filed Jan. 3, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet l 1 "mam.

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WHEEL RETAINER WITH SCREW ACTUATED CLAMPS Stanley W. Hayes, Richmond,Ind., assignor to Hayes Track Appliance Company, Richmond, Ind., a corporation of Indiana The present invention relates to improvements inrailway wheel retainers which are also known as wheel chocks or railclamps.

The wheel retainers of this invention represent iniprovements over thatdisclosed in Stanley W. Hayes Patent No. 2,359,106 issued September 26,1944.

Frequently it is necessary to block a railway car against movement, suchfor example when the car is on a grade or is on a siding and mightaccidentally move or be moved into an open switch or the main line. Suchblocking is of a temporary nature, and uninformed or careless workmenmany times resort to wedging a chunk of wood between the rail and thecar wheel. This is an unsafe and unreliable method of blocking the caragainst movement because the wood can easily be dislodged, or crushed orsplintered by the car wheel should the car be suddenly jarred.

Adisadvantage of the earliergtype of safe wheel retainer is its weightwhich made its handling by one man sometimes inconvenient. The wheelretainer of this invention is very substantially lighter and thusovercomes that weight disadvantage. simpler in construction and easierto use.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improvedwheel retainer which is relatively light in weight, simple inconstruction and readily applied to and removed from a rail.

Another object is to provide an improved wheel'retainer of compositewelded construction made primarily from the bar and plate stock.

Another object is to provide an improved wheel retainer which may berigidly clamped onto rails of varying heights having different sizes ofrail heads.

Another object is to provide an improved Wheel retainer having opposedrail head gripping and clamping elements which are brought into andretained in clamping position by a rotatable screw means the axis ofwhich lies in a plane common to the movable carrier for the clampingelements to provide a minimum amount of strain on the parts consistentwith the force required to clamp the retainer to the rail.

Another object is to provide an improved wheel retainer having opposedrail head gripping and clamping elements arranged at either side of anupstanding vertically slotted wheel abutment plate wherein a shaftextends through the plate slot and apertures in the upper ends of theclamping elements, a yoke straddles the plate and has its legssupporting the shaft, and a 'screw is threaded through the closed end ofthe yoke and bears against the top of the plate above the slot so thatrotation of the screw in one direction or the other raises the clampingelements into or lowers them from railhead clamping position.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is an elevational View of a preferred form of wheel retainerconstructed according to the present in- Also it is more compact,

vention and showing the retainer clamped to a rail and in chockingposition against a railway car wheel;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the wheel retainer of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the wheelretainer with the clamping elements in open position;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view showing the wheel retainer elements in theirFig. 3 position;

Fig. 5 is a vertical medial sectional view showing the wheel retainerclamped to a small size rail; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the wheel retainer clamped toa large size rail.

Referring to the drawings, the wheel retainer 12 is mounted upon a rail14 by clamping it to the head 16 thereof in such position that the tread18 of a railway wheel 20 is in abutting relationship with. the wheelretainer. The wheel retainer 12 comprises a main frame 22 formed of acentral upstanding portion 24 of platelike construction and a baseportion 26 which is a closed rectangular loop formed from bar stock andwelded to the central portion 24 at the bottom thereof. The loop 26 maybe made of a pair of U-shaped bars having their open sides weldedtogether along the central line of the frame where the loop 26 is weldedto the upstanding plate 24. The plate 24 is provided with a forwardlyand upwardly extending portion 28 terminating in a wheel abutment face30 arranged at an angle to the horizontal and vertical which is mostconvenient for contacting railway car wheels. Toone side of the wheelretainer a U-shaped handle 32 is welded to the'loop 26 to pro vide aconvenient means by which the wheel retainer may easily be carried andset in place.

The wheel retainer 12 is adapted to be seated on top of the rail head 16with the base loop 26 in a hori zontal position and the central bodyplate 24 upstanding from the top of the rail and having its longitudinalaxis ing elements 38 each of which includes a generally verticallyarranged plate .40 having an aperture 42 adjacent its upper end. At itslower end the plate 40 is bent inwardly to provide a short inwardly anddownwardly inclined portion or shelf 44 which is adapted to engagebeneath the rail head 16 and particularly to grip the outer lower cornerof the rail head. The clamping elements 38 are hung or suspended from ashaft 46 which extends horizontally and transversely through theapertures 42 and through a vertically disposed slot 48 in the centralplate, the slot being long enough to permit the range of verticalmovement for the shaft 46 necessary to bring the clamping elements 38into and out of clamping position on all sizes of rails with which thewheel retainer may be used. A pair of short diametrically disposedkeepers 50 are welded to the outer ends of the shaft 46 to prevent theclamping elements 38 from being removed from the shaft. 2

'Each clamping element is provided with a pair of cam members 52disposed adjacent the outer vertical edges of the plate 40. Each cammember 52 has a downwardly and outwardly inclined cam surface 54terminating in a rigidly clamped to the rail. As seen most clearly inFigs.

2 and 4 to 6, the clamping elements 38 move vertically Patented May20,1958

3 in rectangular spaces 60 defined by the central upstanding plate 24and the bisected base loop 26. As the clamping elements are raised inthese spaces the cam surfaces 54 of the cam members 52 come into contactwith arcuate fulcrum surfaces 62 formed or provided by the innersurfaces of the loop 26 to move the lower ends of the clamping elementsinwardly, the extent of the inward movement depending upon the extent ofthe upward movement of the shaft 46. This inward movement of theclamping elements causes the shelf part 44 to move inwardly below therail head 16 of the rail to insure that they engage and firmly seatagainst the lower outer corners of the rail head 16. As the fulcrumsurfaces 62 are arcuate they provide a low resistance line contact withthe cam surfaces 54 regardless of the relative angular positions of thecam members and the base loop.

The actuating means 36 for raising the clamping elements 38 intoclamping position is adapted to react against the rail through thecentral portion 24 of the wheel retainer frame. To this end the centralportion 24 is provided at its upper end and above the slot 48 with arecess 64 having a flat horizontal seat 66 provided with a depression 68the center of which is axially aligned with the vertical axis oftheslot. The depression 68 is adapted to receive the outer end of ascrew or bolt 70 the upper end of which is welded to a short sleeve 72which slidably receives a turning handle 74 in the well known manner.The screw 70 projects through a threaded opening 76 in the closed end 78of a U-shaped or yoke member 80. The member 80 has a pair of legs 82which straddle the central upstanding plate 24 and are positioned insideof the clamping elements 38. Adjacent their outer ends the legs 82 areapertured at 84 to receive the shaft 46. The yoke 80 and the screw 70are movable relative to the central upstanding plate 24, part of themovement being pivotal, and to accommodate the latter movement the upperrear of the plate is arcuately formed at 86.

From the foregoing description it is clear that the wheel retainer ofthis invention has very few parts, which are simple in theirconstruction and are easily welded together. Basically the wheelretainer comprises the frame 22, a pair of clamping elements 38, theshaft 46, the yoke 80, the screw 70 and the turning handle 74. The wholeis assembled by moving the clamping elements 38 into position within therecesses 60 on either side of the central plate 24, placing the legs 82of the yoke between the upper ends of the clamping elements and theplate and passing the shaft 46 through aligned apertures 42 in theclamping elements, 84 in the yoke, and 48 in the upstanding plate 24. Itis preferred that before the shaft is inserted through these aperturesone of the retaining members 50 be welded across one end. After thewhole has been assembled in the manner indicated the second retainingmember 5,0 is welded across the opposite end. It is, therefore,impossible to separate these elements without cutting them apart with atorch or a hacksaw. The screw 70 is threaded into the opening 76,, andif desired any conventional means may be utilized to prevent removal ofthe screw from its threaded aperture. The wheel retainer is now readyfor placement upon a rail.

The screw or bolt 70 is unscrewed sufiiciently to permit the yoke 80 tobe moved to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 wherein the shaft 46 isat the bottom of the slot 48 and the clamping elements 38 are in theirlowermost or open position. They are then separated and the wheelretainer is dropped onto the rail so that the central plate 24 isaligned with the longitudinal axis of the rail which brings the wheelabutment face 30 into its proper wheel tread abutting position. If therailway car has been spotted in position the wheel retainer is moved tocontact the abutment face against the wheel tread, and then the yoke 80is moved upwardly and pivoted in a clockwise direction (Figs. 1 and 3)so that the outer end of the bolt 70 can be seated in the depression 68above the slot he s re is hen. rned the clockw se to raise the shaft 46and the clamping elements 38 in the spaces 60 at either side of theplate 24. This movement causes the cam surfaces 54 slidably to engagethe fulcrum surfaces 62 on the base loop 26. As the cam surfaces divergedownwardly, their sliding contact with the fulcrum surfaces moves thelower end of the cam elements 38 toward the center of the rail whicheventually results in a contact between the downwardly and inwardlyinclined shelf portions 44 against the underside of the rail head 16.The clamping means is tightened by and may be, set by smartly tappingthe handle 74 in the clockwise direction (Fig. 2) with a hammer orlightly weighted object. The retainer is removed from the rail byreversing these operations.

From the foregoing description it is clear that the objectives whichwere claimed for the improved wheel retainer of this invention have beenobtained. The Wheel retainer is simple in construction, easy to placeupon a rail, has few parts and, therefore, may economically be made, andit is light in weight.

While a preferred embodiment constituting the wheel retainer of thisinvention has been shown and described, it will be apparent thatmodifications and variations thereof may be made without departing fromthe underlying principles of the invention. It is, therefore, desired bythe following claims to include within the scope of the invention allsuch variations and modifications by which substantially the results ofthis invention may be obtained through the use of substantially the sameor equivalent means.

What is new and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patentis: r

l. A wheel retainer adapted to be mounted on a railway rail, comprisingin combination, frame structure adapted to be seated on top of a railhead and including a central vertically slotted wheel abutment plate andmeans forming fulcrum surfaces at both sides thereof and spacedtherefrom, movable clamping elements at either side of said plate withaclamping element between said plate and each of said furcrum surfaces,said clamping elements each having an aperture therein, a part engagingbeneath the rail head, and an outwardly and downwardly extending camsurface engaging the adjacent fulcrum surface, a shaft extending throughsaid slot and said clamping element apertures and being rotatable andmovable vertically in said slot to move said clamping elements into andout of clamping position, a yoke having arms pivotally connected to saidshaft, and a screw threaded through the closed end of said yoke andadapted to act against said central plate on a part thereof above saidslot whereby when said screw is rotated in one direction said yokeraises said shaft to move said clamping elements into clamping positionand when said screw is rotated in the opposite direction said yokelowers said shaft to release said clamping elements from clampingposition.

2. A wheel retainer adapted to be mounted on a railway rail, comprisingin combination, frame structure adapted to be seated on top of a railhead and including a central vertically slotted wheel abutment plate andmeans forming fulcrum surfaces at both sides thereof and spacedtherefrom, movable clamping elements at either side of said plate with aclamping element between said plate and each of said fulcrum surfaces,said clamping elements each having an aperture therein, a part engagingbeneath the rail head, and an outwardly and downwardly extending camsurface engaging the adjacent fulcrum surface, a shaft extending throughsaid slot and said clamping element apertures and being rota; table andmovable vertically in :said slot to move said clamping elements into andout of clamping position, a U-shaped member having its legs straddlingsaid central plate with each lying between said central plate and one ofsaid clamping elements, the outer ends of said irect n legs beingapertured to receive sad shaft thereby pivotally to connect saidU-shaped member to said shaft, and a screw threaded through the closedend of said U-shaped member and adapted to act against said centralplate on a part thereof above said slot whereby when said screw isrotated in one direction said member raises said shaft to move saidclamping elements into clamping position and when said screw is rotatedin the opposite direction said member lowers said shaft to release saidclamping elements from clamping position.

3. A wheel retainer adapted to be mounted on a railway rail, comprisingin combination, frame structure adapted to be seated on top of a railhead and including a central vertically slotted wheel abutment plate andmeans forming fulcrum surfaces at both sides thereof and spacedtherefrom, movable clamping elements at either side of said plate with aclamping element between said plate and each of said fulcrum surfaces,said clamping elements each having an aperture therein, a part engagingbeneath the rail head, and an outwardly and downwardly extending camsurface engaging the adjacent fulcrum surface, a shaft extendingtransversely through said slot and said clamping element apertures, saidshaft being rotatable and movable vertically in said slot to move saidclamping elements into and out of clamping position, a U-shaped memberhaving its legs straddling said central plate with each lying betweensaid central plate and one of said clamping elements, the outer ends ofsaid legs being apertured to receive said shaft thereby pivotally toconnect said U-shaped member to said shaft, said U-shaped member havingpivotal and longitudinal movement relative to said plate and said platebeing formed opposite its wheel abutment to accommodate such movement,and a screw threaded through the closed end of said member and adaptedto act against said central plate on a part thereof above said slotwhereby when said screw is rotated in one direction said member raisessaid shaft to move said clamping elements into clamping position andwhen said screw is rotated in the opposite direction said member lowerssaid shaft to release said clamping elements from clamping position.

4. A wheel retainer adapted to be mounted on a rail- Way rail,comprising in combination, structure adapted to be seated on top of arail head and providing a central vertically slotted wheel abutmentportion and fulcrum surfaces at both sides thereof and spaced therefrom,movable clamping elements at either side of said central portion with aclamping element between said central portion and each of said fulcrumsurfaces, each clamping element including a generally verticallyextending plate having an aperture therein adjacent the upper endthereof and an inwardly and downwardly inclined portion at the lower endthereof providing a shelf engaging beneath the rail head and a pair ofplates secured to and outstanding from the outer surface of saidvertically extending plate, said last named plates having outwardly anddownwardly extending cam surfaces at their outer edges engaging theadjacent fulcrum surface, said last named plates including partsextending below and supporting said inwardly and downwardly inclinedportion, a shaft extending through said slot and said apertures andbeing movable vertically 6 within said slot to raise and lower saidclamping elements, a yoke having arms connected to said shaft, and ascrew threaded through the closed end of said yoke and adapted to actagainst said wheel abutment portion on a part thereof above said slot,whereby when said screw is rotated in one direction said yoke raisessaid shaft to move said clamping elements into clamping position andwhen said screw is rotated in the opposite direction said yoke lowerssaid shaft to release said clamping elements from clamping position.

5. A wheel retainer adapted to be mounted on a railway rail, comprisingin combination, structure adapted to be seated on top of a rail head andproviding a centralvertically slotted wheel abutment portion and fulcrumsurfaces at both sides thereof and spaced therefrom, movable clampingelements at either side of said central portion with a clamping elementbetween said central L portion and each of said fulcrum surfaces, eachclamping element including a generally vertically extending plate havingan aperture therein adjacent the upper end thereof and an inwardly anddownwardly inclined portion at the lower end thereof providing a shelfengaging beneath the said head and a pair of plates secured to andoutstanding from the outer surface of said vertically extending plate,said last named plates having outwardly and downwardly extending camsurfaces at their outer edges engaging the adjacent fulcrum surface,said last named plates includingparts extending below and supportingsaid inwardly and downwardly inclined portion, a shaft extending throughsaid slot and said apertures and being movable vertically within saidslot to raise and lower said clamping elements, a U-shaped member havingits legs straddling said wheel abutment portion with each lying betweensaid wheel abutment portion and one of said clamping elements, the outerends of said legs being apertured to receive said shaft therebypivotally to connect said U-shaped member to said shaft, and a screwthreaded through the closed end of said U-shaped member and adapted toact against said wheel abutment portion on a part thereof above saidslot, whereby when said screw is rotated in one direction said memberraises said shaft to move said clamping elements into clamping positionand when said screw is rotated in the opposite direction said memberlowers said shaft to release said clamping elements from clampingposition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS176,737 Campbell May 2, 1876 1,104,528 Melliville July 21, 19141,293,831 McDermid Feb. 11, 1919 1,343,661 Crim et al. June 15, 19201,425,836 Campbell Aug. 15, 1922 1,439,089 Gallagher Dec. 19, 19221,601,752 Wortham Oct. 5, 1926 1,741,613 Catignani Dec. 31, 19292,303,560 Knight Dec. 1, 1942 2,359,106 Hayes Sept. 26, 1944 2,375,391Smith May 8, 1945 2,762,314 Hayes Sept. 11, 1956

